Justice News

Two District Men Sentenced to 8 1/2-Year Prison Terms for Armed Home Invasion on Capitol Hill

Victim Was Held at Gunpoint in Afternoon Burglary

WASHINGTON – Barrett Harrington, 31, and Germar Fox, 35, both of Washington D.C., were sentenced today to 8 ½-year prison terms on charges stemming from an armed home invasion that took place in July 2016 near Capitol Hill, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

Harrington and Fox pled guilty in June 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to the charge of first-degree burglary while armed. The pleas, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for each defendant to be sentenced to 102 months of incarceration. The Honorable Kimberly S. Knowles accepted the pleas and sentenced the defendants accordingly. Following their prison terms, both men will be placed on five years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence, the burglary took place at about 5:30 p.m. on July 15, 2016, with both Harrington and Fox conspiring to take items of personal property from the victim while he was present in his apartment in the 1000 block of New Jersey Avenue SE. Fox was armed with a firearm during the crime. According to the evidence, Harrington, Fox, and a third man conspired to commit the crime. The third man previously befriended the victim, but that was actually a ruse. On the day of the home invasion, the third man and the victim were together. The third man stepped out and informed Harrington and Fox that he was alone with the victim in the apartment. Harrington and Fox then barged into the apartment, bound the victim with duct tape, placed a pillow case over his head, assaulted him with the gun, and robbed him of his safe with thousands of dollars in cash and other items.

As they made their escape, a passerby noted the license plate of the getaway car, and provided it to police. Further investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including fingerprint and DNA evidence, led to the arrests of the defendants. Harrington was arrested on June 24, 2017 and Fox was arrested on July 11, 2017. Both have been in custody ever since. The case against the third man remains pending.

In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Veronica Sanchez, Denise Cheung, and Stephen Rickard; Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Donice Adams; Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan; Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh.

Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kamil Shields, Alyse Constantinide and Louis Manzo, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the matter.